


Rubatosis

by GuyOfShy



Series: Scatterings of White Roses and Sightings of Bumblebees [27]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Encouragement, F/F, Inspired by Fanart, More Cuddling, Useless lesbian's redemption arc, White Rose - Freeform, Worried Weiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 12:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11440983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuyOfShy/pseuds/GuyOfShy
Summary: How cuddling came naturally to Ruby Weiss felt like she would never understand. Uneasy Weiss, but Ruby’s happy to help ease her fears.





	Rubatosis

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this fantastic fanart by Capralepus: https://capralepus.tumblr.com/post/156693497997/white-rose-cuddles-give-me-life
> 
> A special thank you to u/The-Board-Chairman for reading over this and critiquing it for me!
> 
> In the end notes I vent about the trouble I had writing this fic. If you don’t want to read that junk, the important stuff is in the last little paragraph. Sorry!

Weiss hated this. Not Ruby being so close, but the way it always made her blush so madly. Her skin was too warm. It felt strange. The whole experience was strange.

She felt diffident staring at her knees, listening to her heartbeat and Ruby’s breathing tickling the back of her neck. They sat together on Weiss’ bunk with Ruby holding her from behind and resting her arms around the heiress’s tiny waist. Weiss carefully tightened her hold over Ruby’s hands, and she tightened her hug in response. How cuddling came naturally to her Weiss felt like she would never understand. Especially with someone as bony as her: she wished she had her jacket so Ruby wouldn’t be resting against her shoulder, but her leader insisted she leave it because she looked prettier without it.

“Ruby, don’t you think this is a little close?” she tried, wondering her girlfriend’s obvious opinion.

“Nope!”

“Should I be closer then?”

“If you want Weiss. You won’t hear me complaining.”

Ruby edged closer for her. Weiss felt a leg brushing up against her thigh and their waists touching, a blush instantly racing up to her ears, and hoped Ruby couldn’t feel the heat spreading to her neck even though that’s exactly where she was resting her head. It didn’t help that Ruby always teased her about her easy blushing too. She said it was cute, but Weiss felt clueless more than anything. Like an utter dolt. But she was Ruby’s dolt, just like how Ruby always said she was her dolt, and she tried to relax knowing that fact. She separated Ruby’s hands and wove her fingers between them, holding onto the feeling of the younger girl’s knuckles digging into her palms.

“Weiss?”

“Yes?”

Weiss held her breath, waiting for a kiss, or some charming compliment that would make her heart melt, as if it wasn’t already. She felt Ruby remove her head from her shoulder. A peck there made her shiver, surprised. Ruby leaned into her and pressed her lips to her cheek, smiling when Weiss held her hands tighter. Taking it as a signal to continue she started moving around her to find a better angle of attack. Weiss turned her head as her leader’s lips closed in, doubting that it was okay to sit still like this while Ruby did all the work.

They were so close. Weiss felt uncomfortably intimate in Ruby’s comfortable embrace, her heart suffering a little meltdown with every kiss they shared. Ruby leaned into her but Weiss had to move back to keep balanced, a nervous pulse racing through her when she felt the redhead smiling against her lips.

“What?” she asked to force a momentary reprieve.

“Nothing. I just love having you so close.”

“Even though I’m so nervous like this?” Weiss tentatively asked while letting go of her hands to hug her legs.

“That’s part of the reason why, since you’re so adorably flustered with me,” Ruby replied, smiling as Weiss’ cheeks grew even redder.

Weiss rolled her eyes and refused to meet such a reassuring stare, finding more comfort in watching her bony knees instead. It wasn’t fair that Ruby was so calm and collected that Weiss couldn’t tease her back, lost in her partner’s vivid shows of affection as she was. The only thing she ever could do was act before Ruby thought to, pretending that her own lack of initiation didn’t make their cuddling a one-sided affair.

With that thought threatening to linger with her Weiss let go of her knees to slide backwards and bend her legs over Ruby’s, this time locking her arms around the redhead’s waist and snuggling into her shoulder. Acting before she did.

“I guess that wasn’t close enough for you?”

Weiss didn’t have to look to know Ruby was smiling.

“Just hug me back already.”

Ruby complied and held her waist with one arm, resting her other over Weiss’ legs in her lap. The older girl flinched and Ruby retracted her hand, fearing that she had hurt Weiss somehow but feeling her nuzzle deeper into her shoulder and hold her tighter.

Weiss hated that she couldn’t help it. Nervous knee-jerk reaction, every time. She buried her head closer with the silent hope that Ruby would put her arm back down, but instead felt fingers touch her chin. Ruby’s silver eyes were pulled into view and her lips met Weiss’. She couldn’t even react. Paralyzed like a deer in headlights, every time, and she couldn’t stand it.

Weiss gained her wits just as Ruby started pulling away. She squeezed her tighter again, leaning in, trying to bridge the gap and Ruby responded with a smile, meeting her and kissing her back.

“Still not close enough, huh Weiss?”

Ruby couldn’t help it when Weiss wordlessly nuzzled back up against her. She was such an adorably nervous wreck when it came to cuddling.

“You said you liked having me close, so I moved closer,” she finally said.

“Nope! I said I love having you so close.”

“Oh, sorry. I stand _wildly_ corrected.”

“There’s a big difference!”

“Perhaps you should give me a demonstration, since I don’t seem to know the difference.” Weiss’ cold eyes struck her with a skeptical, indifferent look that Ruby recognized as an attempt to hide her anticipation.

“You know, you always say you feel unconfident when it comes to cuddling, but you’re really good at flirting Weiss.”

“If you say so,” Weiss replied indifferently while hiding her growing smile.

“Trust me, I know so. You ready?”

Weiss exhaled, hating that she had to ask first.

“Listen Ruby… whether or not I seem like it, I’m always ready.” She said it quietly, just as much to herself as to Ruby. She tried a smile and to her delight Ruby smiled back, but was embarrassed to feel her lips curling even higher. She loved few things as much as Ruby’s smile and cursed her own frailty before it, turning to hide again but once more being pulled back toward her by the hand on her chin.

“I can’t kiss you if you turn away you know.”

“Well, then just do it already! I can’t help it when you-!”

Weiss hated it when Ruby interrupted her with a kiss. At least, that’s what she told herself. She only hated the fact that she couldn’t deny that she liked it: that, even when it was unexpected, Weiss still found it easier to relax into Ruby’s initiative than her own. Ruby could transition so seamlessly between conversation and cuddling and kissing… Weiss wondered for the hundredth time where she left her own normally graceful composure. She tried to forget about it for now, opting to try to kiss Ruby back rather than contemplate her own meekness. She felt Ruby’s hand on her cheek, fingers sorting through her hair, so she followed her leader’s lead and touched her cooler cheek as well. Ruby leaned in and Weiss moved to meet her, and instead of parting they stopped smooching and smiled, pressing their foreheads together.

“I don’t know how to get any closer than that,” Weiss murmured, wondering if she was still blushing while her smile slowly vanished. “Was that still not close enough for you?” she asked, now intensely curious.

“Of course not,” Ruby answered, still smiling for some reason.

A familiar fear seized Weiss. Ruby just voiced her deepest concern, that she wasn’t good enough, disappointing, and could somehow say it so nonchalantly as if it didn’t matter - as if it were obvious.

“So, what do you want me to do?”

“What do you mean?” Ruby lifted her head away from Weiss’s to look at her, surprised to see such a troubled expression on her face. Her curiosity grew desperate.

“I mean… you said you love having me that close, so what do you want me to do to be closer? Should I hug you a different way or sit in a different position?”

Ruby giggled, of all things. No smile, no gentle reassurance, but laughter. The pleasant sound spelled doom for Weiss: she had just doubly humiliated herself somehow and wished she had never spoken up.

“We were hugging, Weiss. It’s kinda hard to get closer than that, don’t you think?”

Make that triply humiliated. Ruby watched her with an amused smile. She said it so nonchalantly - as if it were obvious. A sweltering blush emerged in Weiss’ cheeks while she stared at Ruby’s grin feeling like a fool. She wanted to shrivel up and disappear.

“Ruby? Can I be honest?” she quietly began, unsure if she wanted to finish her thought but letting it spill out anyway. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Weiss inhaled and held on, bottling up the refreshing oxygen while she attempted to steady herself. She felt clueless. She was happy to remove that weight from her bones and her soul but now it sat unattractively between them, opening a new uneasy fear in her chest that festered while waiting for Ruby’s response.

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked, staring at Weiss instead of down at the bed with her. “You just kissed me a minute ago, and while you were hugging me too.”

“I did, but, did I do it right?”

“Of course Weiss. Could you not tell from how I was kissing you back?”

“Yes, but… I feel like I’m not doing anything right. I feel pathetic.” She looked up at Ruby, hoping she was communicating her fears correctly. She was further worried when Ruby didn’t respond immediately, but perked up when Ruby squeezed her hand. Nervous knee-jerk reaction, every time.

“I know it probably doesn’t help much to say this, but you’re really doing fine Weiss. I’m sort of a cuddle fiend myself, if you couldn’t tell already,” Ruby bashfully said, “so I’m happy just holding onto you.”

“But don’t you want me to hold onto you sometimes instead? Or hug you first, or kiss you first, instead of merely reciprocating?”

“I mean, yeah, that would be really sweet. But I understand if you feel nervous about it. Don’t you remember the first few days we started going out? It was more awkward than when we first met. And I exploded in front of you! So don’t worry about it, because I don’t mind.”

Weiss was always embarrassed to remember those days. Neither of them knew what to do at first. Weiss adamantly abstained from holding hands for a week until Ruby picked hers up with no prior warning, pleading with Weiss when she tried to yank her hand away. Exactly one month in Ruby ignored her objections and kissed her for the first time, and Weiss let her leader take the lead from there.

Weiss didn’t want to worry about keeping up with Ruby. She wanted to walk beside her, together. It would be easy to just smile and agree with her, forget she had even mentioned this but she felt no better about it, and didn’t want to be stuck hugging and kissing and loving Ruby while still fretting about all these little things that she knew didn’t matter in the slightest.

“Ruby…”

Weiss said her name without a clue as to what she was going to say after it. She sensed Ruby was anticipating the rest of her thought, but there wasn’t anything else. She didn’t know what to say next.

“Here Weiss.”

Ruby pulled her hands free of Weiss’ and backed out from under her. She held her arms and legs out, beaming a huge grin.

“And what is this supposed to be?”

“Just hug me Weiss,” Ruby said while beckoning her over.

Weiss scooted over on her knees and leaned in, taking care not to lose her balance while wrapping her arms around Ruby.

“Okay… now what?” Weiss asked, voice trembling due to the sudden increase in proximity.

“Whatever you want. You could keep hugging me in this position, get a little closer, or you could follow up with one of those suave compliments of yours… you wanna kiss me maybe? I leave it in your very capable hands Weiss,” Ruby said smiling.

“I’ll kiss you then,” Weiss said, catching on to Ruby’s method of teaching. She wasn’t rude enough to turn her down when she offered, but Weiss still didn’t know how. She debated on whether she should just go for it or let her know when first. It would be too sudden to just kiss her out of the blue, after all… she considered trying to hold one hand on her cheek like before, but feared losing her balance and falling onto Ruby, which would doubtlessly end too awkwardly for her own good.

“You just going to stare at me instead?”

“Well, sorry! I’m trying here Ruby… so, is staring not okay then?” She feebly asked, shrinking away when Ruby rolled her eyes.

“Of course it is. I’m just waiting for you to kiss me is all.”

“I’m working on it! I’m just thinking about the best way to do it.”

“Do you want me to help?” Ruby raised her eyes attractively at Weiss, offering to lead her out of hiding.

Weiss nodded. Ruby had done it before and she could do it again, and whatever kind of assistance she was offering, Weiss needed it. She waited for Ruby to start explaining it to her, to give what advice she had, but all her leader did was ask her to crawl into her lap.

“O-Okay,” Weiss mumbled on her knees, her legs now straddling Ruby’s waist. “I don’t see how this- mh!”

Ruby kissed her and fell backwards onto the pillows, pulling Weiss down with her and straight into her lips.

And Weiss couldn’t react. Nervous deer-in-headlights once again, positive she was about to melt down, but remembering Ruby was waiting for her to kiss her. She relaxed, or tried her best to, while remembering Ruby said she was doing fine and started smooching away as promised. Whether or not she was doing it well she followed through, hoping that satisfied Ruby after all this while delighted with herself for actually pulling it off. Then she felt Ruby grinning again.

“What?” She asked to force that reprieve again, to take a breath. Maybe she wasn’t kissing her well. Maybe she did something weird and Ruby didn’t want to kiss anymore or was going to make fun of her for something-

“You’re really good at kissing too Weiss.”

“Y-You’re only saying that to make me feel better…”

“No I’m not! I promise.” Ruby sat up again, Weiss still in her lap, knowing that she was making her uncomfortable being so close but holding her waist anyway. “Here’s the point that I’m trying to make: I want to do whatever you want to do Weiss. So don’t worry about whether I’ll like it or not because I definitely will. If you try to kiss me like that and we tumble over it’s okay, or if we hold hands and Nora or someone pokes fun at us or you brush my arm it’s okay. You’re not making it awkward or anything in any way, I promise,” Ruby said while she held onto Weiss’ hands. “It’s actually cute when stuff like that happens. Besides, I like how shy you are when it comes to this stuff. I like you, Weiss. A lot, as I’m sure you can tell. So don’t be afraid to like me back.”

Weiss knew all that. She had played out this conversation a thousand times in a thousand different ways, but it helped having it said straight to her face by the one she needed to hear it from. She still wanted to look away, embarrassed about all her whining from before and the flowery grin now crawling up her lips.

She forced herself to meet Ruby’s sincere stare instead, because if she couldn’t even keep eye contact with her then it was never going to work. That, and she knew if she did look away that Ruby would just turn her back by her chin as she had done twice already. Instead, Weiss breathed and silently reprimanded herself for being so rude as to look away while talking to her.

“Thanks, Ruby. That helps. Really. Just, give me some time to get into the right mindset. I’ll get better, I promise. And I’m going to be the best girlfriend you will ever have.” Weiss slipped her hands over Ruby’s and felt her knuckles on her palms again, feeling that she was already taking a good first step in the right direction by declaring that.

“You already are Weiss. So far you’re the only one, and I hope it always stays that way.”

They shared a smile, staring, which Weiss could now fully invest herself in. A small voice asked her if it was really okay to stare this long without saying anything, but if Ruby wasn’t saying anything either then there was nothing to worry about. Weiss sat in her lap, squeezed her hands, and soaked in her smile.

“So,” Ruby finally said.

“So.”

“You’ve got me pinned,” she noted with another grin.

She was right. Weiss steadied herself while Ruby stared, trying to lose herself in her soft silver eyes. She could see the desire and hope in them, just how badly she wanted to, and felt how badly she herself wanted to… and that was all that mattered.

Weiss separated their hands to hold Ruby’s cheeks while she kissed her, slowly pushing her back down and descending upon her once again, this time of her own volition. When Weiss heard the sounds of their smooching her cheeks and ears went up in flames: she had never kissed this eagerly before, but interpreted Ruby holding her arms as her signal to continue anyway. She leaned in but felt resistance and was pushed back.

“Weiss, I-”

Weiss silenced her with another kiss: she didn’t need to hear any more compliments. She settled back onto Ruby, wondering if she was getting too swept up in the moment, but put the thought away to focus on putting her feelings into action as Ruby had urged her to.

But Weiss was soon pushed away again, and she sat up to impatiently address Ruby.

“Ruby!” Her voice came out more injured than she meant for it to but she quickly continued past it. “I-I thought you said-”

“I did say all that and I really, really enjoyed how, uh… enthusiastic you are, but I was going to say that we have class in ten minutes. I mean, if you wanna skip class to keep going, I wouldn’t mind,” she added with a grin that fully disclosed her excitement, but Weiss immediately flipped off of her and hastened to the bathroom to change.

Ruby watched Weiss leave without a second thought and fell back onto the bed, feeling defeated in her victory. She really thought she had convinced her to skip class to cuddle. She was, however, extremely excited to see the bolder, braver, more assertive behavior the heiress had embraced her with only seconds ago. She found it cute how Weiss suddenly wanted to take the reins, and decided she could happily wait through their classes for a chance to hand them over again.

Right now, however, she was waiting for Weiss to finish changing. She was usually quick, too, which led Ruby to believe she was taking a breather and give herself a good pep talk in the mirror after realizing what she had just done. Weiss finally slipped out in her student uniform looking totally refreshed, so Ruby started moving to go change too before her partner accused her of making them late. She swung her legs over the edge of the mattress but was approached by Weiss and pushed by her shoulders back down onto the pillows, and watched her climb in right on top of her.

“Weiss? Wait, what are you doing?”

“You said you want to do whatever I want to do. And while we do need to go to class,” she sharply said, reprimanding her lazy leader with a frown, “I do still want to cuddle with you. We’ll just get there a little later than usual.”

Weiss smiled and crawled back on top of her, holding her cheeks and locking lips before she had a chance to second guess herself. Ruby lifted her arms around Weiss and held on tightly, thrilled to have her on top of her for once and delighted to discover the star student found cuddling more important than going to class. Ruby just hoped that after all that confident talk before, Weiss couldn’t feel how hot her cheeks were burning now that she was on the receiving end.

“See? I told you you were good at flirting We-”

She was silenced by another kiss. Weiss didn’t need to hear any more compliments.

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been wanting to do a fic with Ruby getting close with a nervous Weiss for a very long time, and I saw that super cute fanart and I guess the pose was just what I needed to get started. I had a ton of trouble writing this, however. It went okay at first, but realized what I’d written wasn’t what I wanted so I started rewriting it. The problem wasn’t the characters or the plot but the actual writing itself. It felt clunky and sloppy in a lot of places which made the whole thing feel that way. I feel a lot better about it now (I would even say I feel pretty good now), thanks to The-Board-Chairman being kind enough to look it over for me, as their suggestions really helped pull it together. So if you have any thoughts at all about how I did or how I could improve this, I would love to hear them too so I know what I could have done better and what I can do better on in the future in case I get stumped like this again (which will undoubtedly happen).
> 
> I plan on writing a companion fic of sorts that is just the flipside of this, with Ruby being flustered instead of Weiss, which will be the next thing that I upload. Not cuddling though. I’ll try to have it uploaded by next Friday, as it won't be nearly as long as this one. So watch out for that if you’re interested. As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have/are having a wonderful day!


End file.
